Four Times Someone Saved Chuck's Life
by asesina
Summary: and one time he returned the favor . Various scenes from Chuck's childhood to the present. Features a variety of characters, including Ellie, Morgan, Bryce, and Sarah, with a dash of Charah at the end.


Four Times Someone Saved Chuck's Life (And One Time He Returned the Favor) by asesina

Disclaimer: I don't own Chuck.

a/n: I've always wanted to try one of these! I hope you like it!

This features different moments in Chuck's life with different people, including Ellie, Morgan, Bryce, and Sarah.

I. _May 15, 1987- Los Angeles, CA _

It was a decidedly normal day at the Bartowski household. Chuck was sitting in front of the NES, eyes glued to the screen as he feverishly pulled the trigger on the plastic controller gun.

He wailed in annoyance when another duck flew away from the inaccurate trajectories of his pixellated bullets.

"Aw, man!" Chuck groaned. He pouted as an 8-bit dog popped up from behind the hedges and snickered at his poor aim.

"I'm never gonna beat this level," Chuck announced loudly as he dropped the controller.

"Chuck, you should give it a rest," Ellie said gently. She glanced through the kitchen door and smiled when Chuck folded his arms across his chest and shook his head defiantly.

"Chuck, those ducks will be there when you turn the game back on. Believe me, you'll have plenty of times to catch up on the game _after_ you clean your room," Ellie chided gently.

"No, Ellie. Why can't I finish it now?" Chuck complained. He walked over to the kitchen and stared angrily up at Ellie.

"Because you left your Lego Millennium Falcon set in about a million pieces on the floor. Mom's gonna be home soon, and you know how she hates messes," Ellie replied matter-of-factly.

She busied herself with preparing lunch for Chuck. As soon as she turned her back, Chuck darted back into the living room. He snuck over to the NES and reached over to the wall socket to plug in the adapter.

Ellie just happened to look over as her little brother was about to shove the plug into the wall outlet.

"Chuck, no!" she shouted.

Ellie raced over to the outlet and pulled the cord violently from Chuck's hands.

"Ellie, come on," Chuck complained.

"Chuck, do you know how dangerous that those things are? You could've been electrocuted!" she said worriedly as she checked him over for bruises and scratches.

"No way! I would just shoot the lightning away like Storm," Chuck said with a wide grin.

"Chuck, _please _be more careful," Ellie pleaded. She attempted a stern glare, but her face melted into a smile when she saw Chuck's puppy dog eyes.

"OK, sis," he replied with a sigh.

Ellie couldn't help but shake her head as she watched her brother jump back on the couch and turn on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

However, she couldn't chase away the thought that Chuck had almost died.

Ellie decided that she wanted to become a doctor that day.

-0-

II_. November 10, 1992- Los Angeles, CA_

Sixth grade had its ups and downs, but so far, Chuck had only experienced the downside. He was too tall, too nerdy, and far too shy to talk to Amanda Richter in biology class.

"So, I heard that they're going to do a Western episode on Star Trek," Morgan was saying.

Chuck snapped out of his reverie and turned his attention back to Morgan Grimes, his best friend and fellow Star Trek afficionado.

"Really?" Chuck replied excitedly, trying to take his mind off the preteen enigma that was Amanda Richter.

"Yeah, and I heard that they're going to use Data a lot in the episode! It is going to be freakin' insane!" Morgan said with a grin.

"Awesome. Hey, we should watch it together! Ellie hates Star Trek, though. Can we watch it at your place?" Chuck asked sheepishly.

"Yeah! Sounds like a plan, my friend," Morgan said with a flourish as they walked into biology class.

Chuck's eyes darted across the room as he attempted to locate Amanda.

Morgan was saying something about Deanna Troi, but his mind wasn't registering any of it.

There she was- a vision in blue, sitting in the third row with a dreamy look on her face as she started out the window in divine boredom.

"Chuck? Hello?" Morgan called. He poked Chuck in the ribs, but his much taller friend had fallen into a love-induced coma.

"Chuck?" Morgan held up two fingers and pointed to his hand.

"How many fingers, man?" he asked worriedly as he snapped his fingers in front of Chuck's face to get his attention.

"Huh?" Chuck replied in bewilderment.

"Dude, you' re in the middle of the class room! You're spacing out, Chuck!" Morgan whispered.

Chuck turned his attention to the rest of the class and felt his face redden as the rest of the students stared blankly at him.

"Sit down, lover boy!" crowed one of the jocks in the front row. He balled up a piece of notebook paper and threw it at Chuck, but Morgan was quicker.

He dove in front of the paper ball like a secret service agent guarding the president. The ball hit him like a bullet, and he collapsed to the ground in mock pain.

"Chuck, man, are you all right?" Morgan asked weakly from his prone position.

"Me? What about you, Morgan?" Chuck asked incredulously as he helped his best friend to his feet.

"I'm fine, Chuck, but I did save your life. That means that you owe me something," Morgan said with a devilish grin.

"Like what?" Chuck shot back.

"I was thinking a few minutes alone with Ellie," Morgan said with a smirk.

"No way," Chuck retorted. His face melted into a grin as he and Morgan made their way to their seats at the back of the room.

-0-

III. _May 13, 2000- Palo Alto, CA_

Chuck Bartowski's freshman year at Stanford had been a particularly interesting time.

Well, it wasn't exactly over just yet. Chuck still had to survive finals week before he could actually say that he had finished his first full year at Stanford.

He still had to take his American Lit and C++ finals, so he had no idea why he had agreed to go to a kegger in the dorm down the road.

Chuck was content to sit around and unwind while listening to his well-worn Matchbox Twenty CD, but Bryce and Jill had other plans.

They were always trying to get him to come out of his shell and meet new people, but Chuck wasn't in the mood for it tonight.

Truth be told, Chuck had become far more confident in Stanford than he had ever been in high school, and he had Bryce and Jill to thank for that.

However, he wasn't exactly thrilled to be in a cramped 10x10 dorm with 15 other sweaty, drunk underaged party-goers.

One of the frat boys had turned his attention on Jill, and Chuck wouldn't stand for it.

He marched up to the blond-haired man and pointed a finger in his face.

"Listen, man," Chuck began, wincing as he heard his words slur a little.

"You stay away from my girlfriend," he managed, hiccuping as he put a hand against the wall to steady himself.

"I'm just gonna borrow her for a while. It's up to her to decide if she wants to go back," the other man sneered as he threw an arm around Jill's shoulders.

"Let her go!" Chuck shouted. The frat boy scoffed and shoved him hard, sending Chuck careening backwards as he frantically grabbed at the air.

Before he hit the ground, Chuck felt an arm catch him and lower him onto a nearby couch.

The figure then darted around him and blocked his view of the frat boy who had attacked him before.

"Is there a problem here?" the mystery Good Samaritan demanded as he leaned in towards the fight instigator.

"No, no man. Cool it. I was just havin' a little fun with Chuck," he stammered.

"Yeah, well we're done here. Leave him alone," his defender replied coolly.

Chuck swallowed a mouthful of alcohol-induced bile as he tried to sit up.

He felt a firm grip on his shoulder pull him into a fully upright position.

"Hey, Chuck. How're you feeling? Can you stand?" a voice asked gently.

Chuck blinked hard and found himself staring up at Bryce Larkin, his roommate.

"Y-yeah. Thanks, Bryce," Chuck slurred. Bryce offered a hand again and helped pull Chuck to his feet.

"I told you this was a bad idea," Jill murmured.

Bryce nodded his head in agreement as they made their way to the door.

Chuck stumbled on the way out and Bryce had to pause for a moment so they could regain their bearings.

"Easy, Chuck," he said quietly.

Jill looked at Chuck worriedly and Bryce motioned for her to keep on walking.

Chuck would survive, but he wouldn't touch alcohol until he turned 21.

Jill and Bryce didn't have a problem with Chuck being a teetotaler.

-0-

IV. _ March 5, 2009- Undisclosed Location_

It was a particularly warm night, but Chuck had little time to enjoy the weather.

He and Sarah were going undercover to an awards dinner in an attempt to find a crooked member of the local rotary club.

One of the rotarians was suspected of embezzlement, white collar fraud, and a profitable side business in the weapons trade.

Chuck flashed on the guy almost as soon as they walked in the door, but the man's bodyguards were instantly wary of them.

One of them appeared to have recognized Sarah when she entered the room, so she and Chuck quickly left through a side exit to reconvene in the van.

"Our cover's been compromised," Sarah explained quickly to Casey.

"How do you know? You were only in there for two minutes," Casey inquired.

"One of the guys knew me. I took out his brother-in-law a while back," she replied breathlessly.

"So what do we do now?" Chuck wondered aloud.

"We have to catch him another time. We'd have to use somebody else to lure the guy in, though. He already knows me," Sarah said glumly as she attempted to think of a way to take down their target.

"Hey, Sarah," Chuck began.

"How about we try to find the guy's vehicle? Maybe we can see if I flash on any of the cars or license plates in the parking lot. If we find out which car he's been using to transport the weapons, we might be able to put a tracking device on it," he suggested.

"That might work," Sarah said with a smile. Her eyes lit up just the slightest bit as she realized that having Chuck around wasn't so bad after all.

Casey noticed Sarah's expression and let out a small, "Hmph," when she glared back at him.

"Well, go on, Sarah. You and Romeo should take out the goons. I'll stay on surveillance," he said with a wry grin.

"All right," she said hastily as she and Chuck exited the van and made their way around the building.

"Chuck, stay behind me. I don't want you to get too close to these guys," Sarah commanded in a whisper.

Chuck nodded and scanned the parking lot for any suspicious looking vehicles.

His gaze stopped on a van marked "Lorenzo's Construction" and his mind was instantly filled with images of the bank records, stolen AK-47s, and forged checks. He also saw the name Danny Carlson.

"He's using that van," Chuck whispered as he gestured wildly at the target.

"Good, Chuck. Now we just have to put a tracking device on the van and we can follow him later on," Sarah replied in a low voice. She motioned for Chuck to stay behind her, but the unmistakable sound of a revolver's hammer clicking made her freeze in her tracks.

"Sarah," Chuck cried.

She whirled around to see Danny Carlson standing behind her.

Danny pulled Chuck closer to him and shoved the revolver against his temple.

"Don't even think about bugging my car, sweetheart," he hissed.

"Sarah, I would do what he says," Chuck said in a low voice as he attempted to quell the fear that was evident in his eyes.

"Chuck, don't move," Sarah instructed.

She put her hands in the air and slowly backed away from Danny.

Her eyes darted over the perp as she looked for an opening, a sign of weakness.

Sarah's eyes narrowed as she thought of a plan.

"It's okay. You can have him," Sarah said flatly.

"What? Sarah, what are you doing?" Chuck demanded nervously.

"I'm sorry, Chuck. I just can't compete with that revolver. I know when I'm defeated," Sarah said sullenly.

"Sarah!" Chuck mouthed.

Sarah turned to walk away from Danny, but she whipped around at the last second, delivering a swift kick to the felon's legs.

He stumbled backwards and released his hold on Chuck.

The revolver went flying, and Chuck dove for it.

His hand landed on the gun just before Danny could reach it.

-0-

V. _March 5, 2009- Undisclosed Location_

Chuck grabbed the revolver and held it loosely, aiming at Danny's head with a weak, shuddering grip.

"What are you, some kind of new guy? You can't even hold the gun right," Danny scoffed.

"It doesn't matter. You tried to hurt Sarah and I just got in the way. I don't care as much about myself, but I won't let you hurt her," Chuck said in a firm voice.

"Chuck, just give me the gun," Sarah whispered.

"No, Sarah. I want him to feel what it's like to have the gun pointed at someone _he_ cares about. I doubt that he cares about anyone but himself, so this will have to do," Chuck replied quickly.

He steadied his hand and swallowed hard as he stared down the barrel of the gun.

"You can't do it. You won't, you pansy," Danny laughed.

"If you make a move on her, I will. Don't you even think about it," he said in a voice that was so unfamiliar it almost scared him.

"Chuck, please just give me the gun," Sarah pleaded. Chuck shook his head.

"Sarah, I know that I'm new to this whole spy thing, but there are some things that I do know how to do. I'm going to make sure that this jackass doesn't hurt you," he responded.

Sarah's eyebrows raised at the seriousness of Chuck's voice, but something in her heart stirred.

He was doing this for her.

"Casey, come help us get rid of the guy. He had a gun, but we have the situation under control," Sarah said into her wireless communicator.

"I'm on it," Casey said on the other end.

When he arrived at the scene, Casey glanced at Chuck and Sarah in surprise.

"Nice work, Bartowski," he said. Casey took the revolver from Chuck and shot a surreptitious look at Sarah.

He wasn't surprised to see that her eyes were still glued on Chuck, admiration and love written plainly on her face.


End file.
